Worth noting, korrespondent.net has compiled its Invasion of Ukraine series into separate months, beginning May 9th, 2023. Linked in the title.
[Korrespondent] 20.50 The number of people injured as a result of the Russian strike on Kramatorsk in Donetsk Oblast has risen to 16. There are probably still people under the rubble. This was reported by the head of the OVA Vadim Filashkin.
18.35 As a result of the Russian strike on the private sector of Kramatorsk, one person was killed and 14 others were wounded, including four children. The rescue operation continues. At least 17 private houses were damaged by the shelling.
18.02 In Lithuania, as part of the Radarom! solidarity campaign for the purchase of drones for Ukraine, Lithuanian citizens and businesses have raised 5 million 614 thousand euros. This is reported by LRT. This is not the final amount, as it will be adjusted after all corporate donations have been received. The funds will be used to purchase drones and counter-drone equipment of Lithuanian and Ukrainian production.
17.51 Russian troops using MLRS shelled the village of Bely Kolodets in the Chuguevsky district. One of the shells hit a civilian car. This was reported by the Kharkiv OVA. As a result of the shelling, a man was killed and another was wounded.
16.36 Since the beginning of the day, 62 combat clashes have occurred along the entire front line. The Russians have reduced their activity in the Pokrovsk direction. This is stated in the operational summary of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine as of 16:00.
16:00 Given the current intensity of fighting on the front, Ukraine will have enough weapons without U.S. military assistance at least until the summer, The Wall Street Journal reported , citing current and former Western officials. But the Ukrainian Armed Forces may soon face a shortage of ammunition and an inability to use some of their modern weapons.
15.13 Russian troops dropped aerial bombs on Hulyaipole in Zaporizhia on February 25. This was reported by the head of the Zaporizhia OVA Ivan Fedorov on Tuesday, February 25.
14.57 Ukrainian troops have achieved another success near the city of Pokrovsk in the Donetsk region. The defense forces have rejected the Russians near the village of Uspenovka. This was reported by the analytical project D eepState .
14:36 Russian occupiers have started buying donkeys at their own expense to transport ammunition and equipment. The Russians themselves are talking about this in messages on Russian pro-government Telegram channels.
14.28 The Ministry of Defense has codified and approved the Vedmak unmanned aerial vehicle for use in units of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. This was reported by the Main Directorate for Support of the Life Cycle of Weapons and Military Equipment.
13:35 The population of the territory controlled by the Ukrainian authorities today may reach 31.5 million people. This was stated by the head of the Institute of Demography and Social Research Ella Libanova at the expert forum Mental health of the nation and rehabilitation of military and civilians during the war: a common cause of the state, business and civil society.
13:17 Russian troops continue to terrorize the civilian population of the Kharkiv region. As a result of another strike on the village of Zolochiv, according to preliminary data, two women were injured. This was reported by the press service of the Kharkiv OVA on Tuesday, February 25.
12:45 As of December 31, 2024, the total cost of recovery in Ukraine is estimated at $524 billion over the next decade. This data is presented in the Rapid Recovery Damage and Needs Assessment (RDNA4), published by the World Bank.
12:02 On Tuesday night, Russian invaders launched seven Kh-101 cruise missiles and 213 drones of various types at Ukraine. Most of the targets were destroyed by air defense. The Air Force of the Armed Forces of Ukraine reported the details.
10:51 An unexploded Russian UAB-500 was found in one of the districts of Zaporozhye. Sappers defused the aerial bomb.
10:12 The Security Service detained in Odessa an agent of the Russian military intelligence (GRU), who burned down energy facilities of Ukrzaliznytsia and prepared caches with firearms and components for explosives.
The traitor turned out to be a 32-year-old woman from Odessa, who was remotely recruited at the end of last year by a career employee of the special operations forces of the Russian GRU.
09:50 As a result of a massive Russian attack on the night of February 25 in the Zhytomyr region, there are damages and casualties.
A commercial building and a residential building in the Zhitomir district were damaged by debris from the air. A woman was injured and hospitalized, and two children, aged four and seven, were also taken to the hospital due to an acute stress reaction.
08:37 Russian troops attacked Sumy with "shahedeen". As a result of the fall of one of the Russian drones with subsequent detonation, two people were preliminarily injured. The glazing of windows in two apartment buildings was also damaged.
07:35 As a result of the Russian attack in the Obukhovsky district, a 44-year-old woman was injured. A private house and utility rooms were also partially destroyed. Damage to private houses was recorded in Fastovsky. This was reported by the head of the Kyiv OVA Mykola Kalashnik.
07:22 As of February 25, 2025, the total combat losses of Russian troops on the territory of Ukraine amounted to approximately 869,530 people (+1,300 per day). This was reported by the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
#1
Russian occupiers have started buying donkeys at their own expense to transport ammunition and equipment. The Russians themselves are talking about this in messages on Russian pro-government Telegram channels.
The best solution is not always the most high-tech, whiz-bang solution. Sometimes low-tech is the best.
Posted by: Abu Uluque ||
02/26/2025 13:04 Comments ||
Top||
#2
^^
#1 Russian occupiers have started buying donkeys at their own expense to transport ammunition and equipment. The Russians themselves are talking about this in messages on Russian pro-government Telegram channels.
The best solution is not always the most high-tech, whiz-bang solution. Sometimes low-tech is the best.
Better than a noisy robot, or a human driven BTR delivering 5.45mm.
Posted by: Mullah Richard ||
02/26/2025 17:53 Comments ||
Top||
#5
"Never fight with the Russians, they will respond to any of your ingenious tactics with such stupidity that will always lead them to victory"
-- Otto von Bismarck
Linked article is available only through a VPN
[EngMilRu] The Russian Armed Forces launched a high-precision strike by air-based weapons and strike unmanned aerial vehicles at the infrastructure of Ukrainian military airfields. The goals of the strike were achieved.
In Kharkov direction, the Sever Group of Forces defeated formations of one motorised infantry brigade and one territorial defence brigade of the AFU near Volchansk and Liptsy (Kharkov region).
The AFU losses amounted to up to 35 troops, two motor vehicles, and one artillery gun.
The Zapad Group of Forces improved the tactical situation. Strikes were delivered at manpower and hardware of two mechanised brigades, one assault brigade of the AFU, and one territorial defence brigade close to Kamenka, Lozovaya (Kharkov region), and Makeyevka (Lugansk People's Republic).
The AFU losses amounted to up to 190 troops, five motor vehicles, and eight field artillery guns, two of which are manufactured by NATO countries. One Kvertus electronic warfare station and three ammunition depots were neutralised.
The Yug Group of Forces took more advantageous lines and positions. Formations of three mechanised brigades and one airmobile brigade of the AFU suffered losses near Seversk, Stupochki, Chervonoye, and Konstantinovka (Donetsk People's Republic).
The AFU losses amounted to up to 140 troops, four armoured fighting vehicles, and two motor vehicles. Two ammunition depots were destroyed.
The Tsentr Group of Forces improved the situation along the front line. Strikes were delivered at manpower and hardware of four mechanised brigades, one assault brigade of the AFU, and one national guard brigade near Zverevo, Sergeyevka, Udachnoye, Shevchenko, Andreyevka, and Uspenovka (Donetsk People's Republic).
The AFU losses amounted to up to 305 troops, seven armoured fighting vehicles, one motor vehicle, and three artillery guns.
The Vostok Group of Forces continued advancing into the depth of enemy defences. Formations of two mechanised brigades of the AFU and three territorial defence brigades were hit near Burlatskoye, Skudnoye, Volnoye Pole (Donetsk People's Republic), and Gulyai Pole (Zaporozhye region).
The AFU losses amounted to more than 150 troops, two armoured fighting vehicles, three motor vehicles, and three field artillery guns.
The Dnepr Group of Forces have engaged manpower and hardware of two mechanised brigades and one coastal defence brigade of the AFU near Shcherbaki (Zaporozhye region), Tokarevka, and Pridneprovskoye (Kherson region).
The AFU losses amounted to up to 85 troops, one armoured fighting vehicle, one motor vehicle, and one ammunition depot.
Operational-Tactical Aviation, strike unmanned aerial vehicles, and Missile Troops and Artillery of the Russian Groups of Forces have engaged the production sites of strike drones as well as temporary deployment areas of the AFU in 144 areas.
Russian air defence systems have shot down five U.S.-made JDAM guided bombs, 23 Czech-made Vampire MLRS projectiles, and 97 fixed-wing unmanned aerial vehicles.
In total, since the beginning of the special military operation, 656 aircraft, 283 helicopters, 44,431 unmanned aerial vehicles, 596 anti-aircraft missile systems, 21,734 tanks and other armoured fighting vehicles, 1,521 MLRS combat vehicles, 22,007 field artillery guns and mortars, and 32,099 units of support military vehicles have been neutralised.
The Armed Forces of the Russian Federation continue the operation to neutralise AFU formations on the territory of Kursk region.
The Sever Group of Forces have inflicted fire damage on formations of one heavy mechanised brigade, five mechanised brigades, one motorised infantry brigade, one assault brigade, two air assault brigades, two territorial defence brigades, and two assault regiments of the AFU near Viktorovka, Goncharovka, Guyevo, Kazachya Loknya, Kubatkin, Kurilovka, Lebedevka, Makhnovka, Melovoy, Nikolsky, Novaya Sorochina, Rubanshchina, and Sudzha. Two counter-attacks launched by enemy units were repelled.
Operational-Tactical and Army aviation and artillery inflicted fire on AFU manpower and hardware close to Bondarevka, Kositsa, Lebedevka, Loknya, Malaya Loknya, Martynovka, Nikolayevka, Oleshnya, Starya Sorochina, Cherkasskoye Porechnoye, Cherkasskaya Konopelka as well as Basovka, Belovody, Veselovka, Novenkoye, Zhuravka, and Yunakovka (Sumy region).
Over the past 24 hours, the AFU losses amounted to more than 220 troops, two tanks, one armoured personnel carrier, 25 armoured fighting vehicles, 18 motor vehicles, eight artillery guns, one mortar, five UAV command posts, and three ammunition depots.
Since the beginning of hostilities in Kursk direction, the AFU losses amounted to more than 63,325 troops, 381 tanks, 288 infantry fighting vehicles, 241 armoured personnel carriers, 2,042 armoured fighting vehicles, 2,185 motor vehicles, 477 artillery guns, 52 MLRS launchers, including 13 of HIMARS and seven of MLRS made by the USA, 23 anti-aircraft missile launchers, one self-propelled anti-aircraft system, ten transport-loading vehicles, 116 EW stations, 15 counter-battery warfare radars, eight air defence radars, 50 units of engineering and other materiel, including 19 counterobstacle vehicles, one UR-77 mine clearing vehicle, five bridge launchers, one engineering reconnaissance vehicle as well as 14 armoured recovery vehicles, and one command post vehicle.
The operation to neutralise the AFU units is in progress.
Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited.
[NewsFront] 23:58 Official summary of the Office for Documentation of War Crimes of Ukraine from 00:00 02/25/2025 to 00:00 02/26/2025.
A total of 29 facts of armed attacks by the Ukrainian Armed Forces.
There were reports of a civilian being injured.
DAMAGED:
Five civilian infrastructure facilities.
A total of 29 armed attacks in the Gorlovka direction.
A total of 92 units of various ammunition were fired.
19:30 Around 18:10 Moscow time by air defense systems on duty destroyed Ukrainian unmanned aerial vehicle over the territory of Kursk region.
18:25 Information is coming in that the Russian Armed Forces, following Pogrebki, have liberated Orlovka, –MAP.
17:20 Soldiers of the 34th Guards Motorized Rifle Brigade raisedThe Russian flag over a school in the village of Pogrebki in the Kursk region. The village has been liberated.
16:35 Assault units of the 5th Army of the "East" group committed a successful offensive thrust from the Vremyevka-Gulyaipole highway to Burlatskoye. The depth of advance was about four km, the width along the front was about five km.
16:20 The Russian Armed Forces launched a missile strike on the Ozernoye airbase in the Zhitomir region, where MiG-29 and F-16AM fighters are based. Three missiles hit their targets, one was shot down by air defense systems, –MAP.
16:14 Drone operators of the Dnepr Guards from the 18th Army attacked the Ukrainian Armed Forces UAV control point, –video.
15:00 In the Khar'kov region, servicemen of the reconnaissance unit of the North group of troops used a UAV revealed an enemy combat armored vehicle transporting Ukrainian Armed Forces fighters for rotation.
The detected target was quickly destroyed by the FPV drone crew of the North Forces Group.
14:31 Drone operators of the 40th Naval Infantry Brigade of the Vostok group of forces, interacting with artillerymen,continue to identify and destroy Ukrainian Armed Forces equipment in the South Donetsk direction.
During aerial reconnaissance, the naval infantry discovered the movement of nationalist armored vehicles. The coordinates of the targets were promptly transmitted to the barrel artillery command post, whose crews destroyed the enemy combat vehicles with targeted fire.
13:30 Armed Forces of the Russian Federation continue to defeat of the Ukrainian Armed Forces formations in the Kursk region.
During offensive operations, units of the North group of forces defeated formations of a heavy mechanized, five mechanized, motorized infantry, assault, two airborne assault brigades, two territorial defense brigades and two assault regiments of the Ukrainian Armed Forces in the areas of the populated areas of Viktorovka, Goncharovka, Guevo, Kazachya Loknya, Kubatkin, Kurilovka, Lebedevka, Makhnovka, Melovoy, Nikolsky, Novaya Sorochina, Rubanshchina and Sudzha. Two enemy counterattacks were repelled.
Strikes by operational-tactical and army aviation and artillery fire hit enemy manpower and equipment in the areas of the settlements of Bondarevka, Kositsa, Lebedevka, Loknya, Malaya Loknya, Martynovka, Nikolaevka, Oleshnya, Staraya Sorochina, Cherkasskoye Porechnoye, Cherkasskaya Konopelka, as well as Basovka, Belovody, Veselovka, Novenkoye, Zhuravka and Yunakovka in Sumy Oblast.
Over the course of 24 hours, the Ukrainian Armed Forces lost more than 220 servicemen, two tanks, an armored personnel carrier, 25 armored combat vehicles, 18 cars, eight artillery pieces and a mortar, as well as five UAV control points and three ammunition depots were destroyed.
13:10 Tank crews of the 51st Combined Arms Army destroyed a UAV control point of the Ukrainian Armed Forces in the Dzerzhinsky direction.
As a result of the timely support of the tank crews, the assault groups were able to advance forward and capture another enemy stronghold.
12:21 Armed Forces of the Russian Federation inflicted a strike with high-precision air-launched weapons and unmanned aerial vehicles on the infrastructure of Ukrainian military airfields. The strike's objectives were achieved.
11:40 RF Armed Forces applied strikes on targets in Sumy
11:15 Kupyansk direction: expansion of the Russian Armed Forces bridgehead and destruction of the defense of the Armed Forces of Ukraine
The key event in this direction was the official liberation of the settlement of Topoli, which made it possible to expand the bridgehead on the right bank of the Oskol and develop further offensive in the western and southern directions.
10:11 RF Armed Forcesare applied strikes on enemy targets in Zhitomir
9:58 Kostroma paratroopers of the 98th Airborne Division evacuated wounded BTR-MDM driver and recaptured the equipment from Ukrainian Armed Forces drones in Chasovy Yar.
During the advance of the armored group of paratroopers after completing a combat mission, the BTR-MDM "Rakushka", which was bringing up the rear of the column, ran over a mine. The vehicle lost control and stopped. The group of paratroopers reported the incident to the regiment command and advanced to the combat vehicle.
8:59 Around 6:00 Moscow time by air defense systems on duty destroyed Ukrainian unmanned aerial vehicle over the territory of Kursk region.
8:06 From Zaoleshenka the enemy throws over troops to Kazachya Lokna and Cherkassky Porechny.
7:25 During the past night, air defense systems on duty intercepted and destroyed 19 Ukrainian unmanned aerial vehicles
16 UAVs over the territory of the Bryansk region,
Two UAVs over the territory of the Kursk region and
One UAV over the territory of the Kaluga region.
[Daily Mail, where America gets its news] NATO was forced to scramble its warplanes in Poland today as Vladimir Putin used strategic bombers and missiles to attack neighbouring Ukraine - even as Vladimir Putin insists he wants peace 'as soon as possible'.
Putin's air force deployed Tu-95MS nuclear-capable strategic bombers to pound targets across Ukraine, causing panic in Kyiv as residents rushed for the metro underground shelters.
Explosions were heard in Kyiv, Zhytomyr, and Sumy, as well as in several towns across the regions of Zaporizhzhia and Chernihiv. Drones were also used by Russia, with several people reportedly suffering injuries.
Warsaw's armed forces operation command headquarters ordered NATO jets to patrol Polish airspace as Russian bombers and missiles soared over Ukraine amid fears they could approach the Polish border.
'Attention, due to the activity of long-range aviation of the Russian Federation, striking targets located, in particular, in the west of Ukraine, military aviation has begun to operate in the airspace of Poland,' the command headquarters said.
Ground-based air defences and radar reconnaissance systems were also 'put on alert'.
It comes just one day after a US B-52 bomber flew a sortie less than 50 miles from the Russian border in a show of strength on the third anniversary of its invasion of Ukraine.
The B-52 jet, which is described as providing the US with 'immediate nuclear and conventional global strike capability', flew from RAF Fairford in Gloucestershire to the frontline NATO state and was flanked by F35s and F-A18 fighters.
The planes jetted in formation over soldiers and tanks as a military parade of over 1,000 troops from NATO and the Estonia's Defense Forces took place in the Estonian capital of Tallinn.
February 24 marked three years since Russian troops invaded Ukraine, and is also Estonian Independence Day. The Baltic state has been a member of NATO for 21 years.
Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited. by Kamran Gasanov
[REGNUM] The meeting of Russian and American officials in Riyadh has brought not only the British, French and German politicians into dismay, but also the Turkish ones. How is that possible? “For three years we were the main mediators. The Istanbul memorandum, the grain deal, the exchange of prisoners and prisoners. Everything went through us,” they thought in the country on the shores of the Bosphorus. And then some Saudi Arabia.
Yes, that's right. It was the birthplace of Islam that Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin chose as a mediator country. But for how long? So far, the talks have taken place in Riyadh, and the next round will apparently take place there as well.
On the day of the Riyadh meeting, February 17, Recep Tayyip Erdogan hastily invited Volodymyr Zelensky, who was bored in the Emirates, and tried to attach importance to this summit through the media. “Important signals,” “a critical meeting” — this is how the Turkish media presented the rendezvous in Ankara.
But even with Zelensky “up his sleeve,” Erdogan did not feel needed or important in the new Russian-American game. A week before the Ankara summit, Turkey decided to remind about its mediation mission through the mouth of Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan, who said that many of Trump’s proposals mirrored the ideas of the Istanbul Memorandum of March 2022.
Only on February 24 was Ankara able to partially regain its confidence: on that day, the head of Russian diplomacy arrived there.
ALTERNATIVE SITE
Sergey Lavrov "informed in detail" his colleague Fidan about the progress of negotiations with Marco Rubio on the topic of Ukrainian settlement. Russia shows its colleagues from Turkey that it has no secrets, and the Kremlin welcomes the desire to participate in the resolution of the three-year conflict.
Yes, Lavrov does not say that Ankara will be a mediator country at some stage, but there is still a big difference between Europe, which is no longer trusted, and Turkey. The Russian Foreign Ministry has no incentive to inform the Old World, if only because Brussels, Paris and Berlin, not to mention London, are in no hurry to establish contact with Moscow and so far are only putting spokes in the wheels of the peace process.
And what is also important is that it is not Trump, a NATO partner and friend of Erdogan, who is informing Ankara, but Russia.
As if inspired by the arrival of an important guest – whose importance in the eyes of the Turks grew even more after the dialogue between Lavrov and Ushakov with Trump’s team – Fidan began to gush with ideas about what role Turkey wanted and could play in the peace process, given the new realities.
“Turkey is always ready to take on any facilitating or accelerating role,” in other words, Ankara is ready for any role that Putin and Trump assign it.
When speaking about their place in the settlement of the conflict in Ukraine, the Turks primarily mean the negotiating platform.
According to the Turkish leader's estimates, Istanbul, where the most successful negotiations between Russia and Ukraine took place, should have priority status. At the same time, the Erdogan administration understands that the new agreements will be based on the conditions agreed upon by Putin and Trump. It was not for nothing that Fidan welcomed the American leader's initiatives at his meeting with Lavrov.
The US President, first through his subordinates, and on February 25 personally, allowed the cession of territories by Kiev. And Ankara's competitor, Riyadh, is not pushing the issue of "integrity" and "occupation of Crimea".
Consequently, Turkey will have to abandon the thesis about the “territorial integrity of Ukraine,” which Erdogan often voices in order to earn the status of a mediator not only in the eyes of Putin, but also of a senior NATO comrade.
TWO "PEACEKEEPING" SCENARIOS
Turkey's status in the Russian-Ukrainian process is not limited to just a platform for negotiations. Moreover, the US and Russia are currently betting on the KSA. What else can Ankara do?
Zelensky voiced one of the options, running ahead of his father into hell. After a meeting with Erdogan, he allowed the Turkish army to be brought into Ukraine as peacekeepers to provide “security guarantees.”
In this sense, Turkey, if it is ready for it, fits into the Western mainstream. After all, even Trump is talking about the possible presence of NATO troops in Ukraine, albeit without the Americans. Without the US, Europe's need for a strong army increases, and Türkiye is the alliance's second army.
So Great Britain and even Macron, who is not very fond of his Turkish colleague, would quite agree to joint participation with the Turks in “peacekeeping” in Ukraine.
Another issue is that Russia is not happy with the presence of either a French, German or even Turkish boot in a border country, to put it mildly. So Erdogan should at least wait for a consensus between Putin and Trump here.
Discussing the topic of peacekeeping and Ankara’s participation in it, Turkish political scientist Alper Coskun draws two scenarios.
The first, "peace enforcement," involves deploying a Turkish corps as part of a multinational Western coalition to "repel a potential future Russian invasion." However, if the ceasefire is disrupted, there is a risk of being drawn into direct military action with the Russian Armed Forces. Therefore, Coskun considers this scenario "unlikely."
He sees the presence of Turkish observers to monitor the cessation of fighting as more “likely”.
“As a country that has maintained relatively positive relations with both sides throughout the conflict, Turkey could be persuaded to lead such an internationally sanctioned initiative and provide the necessary capabilities,” the article says.
NATO WITH RESERVATIONS
The second scenario, which involves a monitoring presence, seems more feasible.
It eliminates the risks of the West being drawn into an unnecessary war with Russia, and at the same time Ankara demonstrates its contribution to European security and increases its ratings with NATO partners, and possibly in the world.
If we recall recent history, Turkey and Russia have quite a lot of experience in peacekeeping. Within the framework of the Astana platform and in accordance with the Sochi agreements, Turkish troops patrolled the security zones in Idlib and in eastern Syria, where until recently there were battles between Kurdish militias and the Syrian opposition supported by the Turkish Armed Forces.
In addition, after the Second Karabakh War, Turkish and Russian militaries established a joint monitoring center in Aghdam to ensure the ceasefire between Azerbaijan and Armenia. So, in theory, such experience could be used in Ukraine.
While the Russian side has a clear position on NATO presence, Trump has so far left his allies room to maneuver. Unlike Britain, France, and Germany, Turkey is being flexible on this issue. Probably in order not to lose the threads of connection with Russia and not to deprive itself of hopes for the status of a negotiating platform in advance.
When discussing Ukraine's accession to NATO, Fidan makes many reservations in an interview with Bloomberg: " If a large international coalition is not formed and deployed along the lines of contact, then the way to ensure security guarantees for Ukrainians may be NATO membership, or the Russians may have other ideas regarding security guarantees."
The Turkish minister hints that any peacekeeping by Ankara must be coordinated with Moscow.
NOT ONLY UKRAINE
For the sake of objectivity, it should be said that in Lavrov’s negotiations with Fidan (and Erdogan, with whom a meeting also took place), not the whole world revolved around Ukraine.
The ministers “synchronized their watches” on the South Caucasus, Palestine and Israel, and also on Syria.
Russia and Turkey share " similar views on preventing separatist movements" in Syria, Fidan said, a reference to Syrian Kurdistan.
Lavrov, for his part, complained that the US is creating an independent state in the east of the Arab Republic. If the Kurdish issue is existential for Ankara, then Moscow has an incentive to counteract separatism in order to gain the trust of the current government in Damascus.
The new ruler of Syria, Ahmed Ash-Sharaa, is in no hurry to say goodbye to the Russian military bases. And Turkey does not seem to be rushing him. On the contrary, both Ankara and Damascus could be interested in preserving the bases in Khmeimim and Tartus.
After all, the US, especially under Trump, will support Israel and is not yet in a hurry to "drain" the Kurdish project. Syria does not have its own air defense, and Israel recently demanded that the Syrians withdraw their troops from the southern provinces.
In the event of an IDF attack under any pretext, Al-Sharaa will need support. The US will not help, the EU will not either, and Turkey alone may not be enough. The presence of Russian bayonets restrains Israeli aviation and strengthens Erdogan's ally. And, accordingly, puts additional pressure on their common enemies in the form of the Kurdistan Workers' Party and its two militant offshoots - the YPG and PYD.
Along with geopolitics, the ministers traditionally discussed bilateral economic ties, tourism, the Akkuyu Nuclear Power Plant projects, and the Turkish Stream and Blue Stream gas pipelines.
Although journalists have become accustomed to mentioning these topics as a “routine poem” when describing meetings and relations between Turkey and Russia, they are the ones that create a platform for bilateral cooperation and act as “safety devices” in the event of competition and differences of opinion, whether in the Caucasus, Central Asia, the Middle East or the Black Sea region.
And for a brief summary, Lavrov’s words are best suited: “ Despite the tense international situation, Russian-Turkish political dialogue maintains intensity and progressive dynamics at all levels.”
And in this case, this is not just diplomatic rhetoric.
A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.
Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing
the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.
Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence
over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has
dominated Mexico for six years.
Rantburg was assembled from recycled algorithms in the United States of America. No
trees were destroyed in the production of this weblog. We did hurt some, though. Sorry.
